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DCCI holds view-exchanging meeting with the small traders of capital’s Gulshan area
Small traders expressed their dissatisfaction over the delay in LC adjustment, unstable dollar value, high rate of interest on bank loans, harassment in payment of VAT, increase of vat and tax on various products, complexity of trade license renewal process and high fees, deteriorating law and order situation and unbearable traffic congestion in the city roads. They also hoped that the government will look into these matters so that the small traders or shop keepers can do their businesses smoothly. They told these at a view-exchange meeting organized by Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) on 6 February, 2025 at DCCI’s Gulshan Office. Office bearers and members of different market and bazar associations of Gulshan, Mohakhali, Banani, Badda area attended this interactive meeting. The discussion covered various pertinent issues like recent hike of VAT and tax, law and order situation, customs, traffic congestion, high price of dollar, trade license renewal fees etc.
Md. Sayedul islam, Additional Director (Foreign Exchange Policy Department), First Secretary of NBR (VAT Implementation) Mohammad Ariful Islam, and Deputy Commissioner of Police (DMP), Gulshan Zone, Md. Tarek Mahmud were present on the occasion from the public sector.
In his welcome speech, Dhaka Chamber President Taskeen Ahmed said at present, due to challenging situation of global trade, our entrepreneurs are facing an increasingly difficult situation to survive in the competition, as well as the complexity of tax and VAT system has become a major challenge for businessmen. In particular, due to the regular changes in taxes and VAT structure, additional burden of advance income tax adjustment issue and regulatory duty, existing obstacles in import-export activities are creating additional economic pressure on the country's private sector, he opined. The DCCI president also said that due to the recent unstable law and order situation and deteriorating traffic situation, the conducive environment for trade and investment is being hampered. Taskeen Ahmed also said limited access of credit for SME entrepreneurs, high rate of interest on loans, unstable dollar rate are hampering our local industrialization. In such a situation, it is essential to take coordinated initiatives of the public and private sectors and implement them effectively for the development of the country's overall economy, he opined.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Gulshan Division) Md. Tarek Mahmud said that after the recent political transformation, reform in the police department is also going on. Bangladesh Police is a hard working force and to improve the trust of the people and the law and order situation, this force is firmly committed. We have zero tolerance to any miscreants whether he has any political affiliation or not, he added. He, however, appealed to all sections of people, including traders, to help the police department by providing information to free them from extortion, harassment and encroachment of footpaths and hoped that the prevailing impasse would be resolved soon with the collective efforts of all.
Md. Sayedul Islam, Additional Director (foreign exchange policy department) of Bangladesh Bank, said that the fixation of LC margin actually depends on the relationship between the bank and the customer and the issue of LC margin is not the same for all products as well. Our local traders have suffered a lot due to the unusual fluctuations in the value of the US dollar that happened due to global unrest caused by the Covid pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, but the central bank is working to keep the value of the dollar stable," he said. He later said a coordinated effort of the government and the private sector is necessary to bring stability in the country's overall financial sector.
First Secretary (VAT Implementation), NBR Mohammad Ariful Islam said the NBR has been given a large revenue target to collect which is a challenging task indeed. He therefore sought cooperation from all, including businessmen, to achieve this challenging target. He said that recently an initiative has been taken to register the gold traders and the NBR is working to expand the scope of tax net at the grassroots level. He also informed that the NBR is working towards implementing an integrated revenue management system that is automated and transparent.
Participating in the open discussion, Md. Abu Taher, Vice-President of Gulshan-1 DNCC South Paka Market Traders' Association, said that it takes about three months from LC opening date to its final settlement and for this system sometimes traders are facing a shortage of capital. Firoz Alam Swapan, President of Mohakhali Bazar Traders' Association, pointed out the issue of increased VAT rate and high fees of trade license renewal and its delay. Mohammad Al Amin, Partner of Amin Hossain & Co., said that under section 163 of Income Tax Act, delayed adjustment of AIT is a challenge for the businessmen. Mahfizul Haque, Proprietor of Hasan Hardware, said the arrival of consumers to the shops decreased significantly due to unbearable traffic congestion, unabated auto-rickshaw and deteriorating law and order situation. Md. Alamgir Hossain, General Secretary of Metropolitan Shopping Plaza Market Association, said a number of shop owners have been attacked by miscreants recently but the concerned police stations did not show the desired response. He therefore stressed for strong enforcement of rule of law in the current situation. Md. Anwar Hossain, Chairman of Mowla Traders, said high interest rates on loans, deteriorating law and order situation, difficulties in LC payments, harassment in paying VAT, etc. are hampering trade and commerce of small traders.
DCCI Senior Vice President Razeev H Chowdhury, Vice President Md. Salem Sulaiman were also present in the meeting. Meanwhile, 25 business entities got their membership of DCCI on the occasion and DCCI President Taskeen Ahmed handed over the certificates to the owners of newly enrolled members of DCCI.
Published on: 2025-02-06